Charles Xavier is Late
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: What if Xavier was late in finding Kurt? NOT AN EVOLUTION STORY. YOU CHOOSE WHETHER MORE CHAPTERS ARE WANTED
1. Default Chapter

The sound of dogs barking pierced the night air, followed by the shouts of their owners as the lights of torches dispelled the darkness in the streets of Winzledorf. The people of Winzledorf were not having a very good year. Their crops weren't abundant enough to sell, nevertheless use for the rest of the year for their families to eat, and there wasn't enough rain to water the few crops they got to make sure they lasted it. Not only that, but their children were being murdered in their beds every night!  
  
They hadn't been able to figure out what was going on until for months, until they found their answer tonight. A demon had been causing their problems all along, just like the priest had suggested from the beginning. A demon with blazing yellow eyes and blue fur with a tail ending in a spaded tip had been killing their children and ruining their crops and stopping the rainfall!  
  
They had found the demon in the bedroom of one of the children, standing over the body of a young man whose neck he had snapped. They instantly concluded that the demon had murdered the young man when the young man tried to stop him from hurting the child. Now, they were on a demon hunt.  
  
For a demon that murdered small children in their tiny beds for fun, its thoughts of where to go and try and find sanctuary for a bit odd. It crawled into an old cathedral through one of its windows; tears coursing down its blue furred cheeks. Looking up at the dust-covered crucifix, it bowed its head and crept up to it, kneeling down and sobbing at its feet. Lifting his head slightly, the demon looked up at the crucifix and whispered softly, his voice hoarse and raspy from grief.  
  
"Please, I did not mean to kill him." He whispered. "I did not mean to kill Stefan at all! I only wanted to stop him from killing any more children whom he claimed were demons! God, you must believe me. I am not a demon. Please, tell that to these people who wish to harm me! Let them know they are wrong!" he sobbed, placing his head in his oddly shaped hands.  
  
Outside, he could hear the dogs barking getting closer to the cathedral. He didn't look over his shoulder, instead looking up at the crucifix and clasping his hands together, his right hand tearing into the back of his left as he prayed passionately for God to tell the people that he was not a demon, also asking for forgiveness for murdering his foster brother Stefan.  
  
One of the windows in the front was suddenly smashed with a rock, sending shattered stained glass everywhere. Standing up slowly, Kurt watched in fear as the doors thumped inward, being smashed from the outside by a pile of furious blood thirsting men with their wild dogs in tow.  
  
"God, I am a poor excuse of a man who has committed a horrible crime. Please, I know I deserve to be punished, but please, don't let them kill me under the name demon! I am not a demon!" he pleaded as the doors splintered and cracked under the repeated assault from the mob. When the doors were finally opened, they found him curled up into a ball, his hands curled around his head, which lay across his knees in a pleading manner. They ignored this and grabbed him roughly by the arms, forcing him to stand up.  
  
"Now you will pay for the murders of our children, demon!" the leader spat, narrowing his eyes. "We will set him ablaze and send him back to Hell where he came from." He told everyone else, sending out a wave of cheers through the masses as they dragged Kurt from the cathedral.  
  
"No! Listen to me! I am not a demon!" he shouted, his voice drowned out by the shouts and cheers from the people, glad that they would finally be able to change their luck for the better once this demon was gone. Their dogs snarled and nipped at his heels and tail, one of them biting down hard enough to draw blood. Lifting his eyes to the star filled sky, Kurt pleaded with the Lord once more to save him from these misguided people who would murder him under the wrong name.  
  
"God, don't let them do this to me!" he shouted as they raised up a stake and hammered it into the ground tightly. "Lord, you know I am not a demon! I never hurt those children and I never would! You know the truth, Father! Don't let them murder me!" Roughly, he was slammed against the stake and bound to it with heavy chains that bit into his skin and drew blood. Still, he pleaded with God.  
  
"I have always been faithful to you, Father. I have always tried my best to do good deeds in Your Name! Don't let me die as a demon tonight! I am not from Hell! I am a man!" he howled more than said, sending some of the people back a few steps in surprise. His tail swished from side to side, scattering away some of the dry wood and straw the people were piling around his feet now.  
  
When their work was done, the people brought forth five torches and turned to the priest that stood glaring up at the sobbing Kurt. He nodded and the torches were thrown into the wood and straw, setting them ablaze in just a few moments time. The people stood around, watching the demon burn with satisfied eyes.  
  
Throwing his head back, Kurt closed his eyes and tried to hold back the vomit that was starting to come up into his mouth. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and tried to bear the lancing pain that was starting to shoot at his large feet and ankles. As the black smoke rose up into his face, he coughed and sobbed at the same time, believing God had condemned him finally for the way he looked and the act he had committed.  
  
"I don't want to die!" he cried, smelling his fur and flesh burning now. Lifting his eyes to the stars, they showed out plainly through the black smoke easily. "I don't want to die like this! Not when I'm not a demon!" he howled, making the dogs bark crazily in pain. "I want to get away from here. I need to get to water!" he screamed. Closing his eyes, he thought about a river he had known about since he was a child.  
  
Then, he was gone in a cloud of purple sulfur and brimstone.  
  
The people gasped, seeing the demon vanish suddenly. At first they thought that he had gotten away, but the priest assured them that the demon had been sucked back into Hell by its master, and that it would never come to their village again to harm their children or ruin the crops. Satisfied with this, the people dosed the flames and went to their beds.  
  
Kurt found himself beside the river, still wrapped up tightly in the chains. Trembling from both fear and shock of the sudden disappearance and reappearance, he got himself together and he slowly rolled into the water, wincing as he felt it touch his wounds. He lay there, half in and half out of the water, unable to move because of the chains, and he still had no idea how he had gotten from the stake and fire to this river. Exhausted and too hurt to care, he closed his eyes and fell into a light doze.  
  
When Kurt woke, it was morning, and his wounds weren't burning any more. Looking down at the chains around his body, he wriggled a little and found that they had gotten loose. Wriggling for a few minutes, he was finally able to shake the chains off of his body completely. Smiling, he stooped down and sucked some water into his mouth, drinking greedily from the sweet water. When he had finished, he tried to stand up.  
  
That was a big mistake.  
  
"Oh God it hurts!" he screamed, crashing down into the water. Looking down at his feet, he saw that they were horribly burned and that the wounds were bleeding and he could see raw flesh under the remains of his once velvety cobalt blue fur. Moaning, he placed a hand over his eyes and he laid his head on the ground, not knowing what he should do now.  
  
"It's not fair is it?"  
  
Gasping softly, Kurt sat up and instantly regretted it as pain shot up his legs and he yelped, laying back down with a groan. Gritting his teeth, he turned his head to try and find the source of the voice, but it was useless, his head starting to pound from the pain his legs.  
  
"Who are you?" he whimpered more than asked. "Please, don't hurt me. I didn't do anything wrong with those children, I swear it. I never meant to kill Stefan either! Please, I cannot move at all!"  
  
"Don't worry about. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you." The voice said softly. Kurt looked at the chains and saw that they were starting to move on their own. Slowly, they slithered up into the air and started to twist and turn around into different shapes as the voice continued to speak.  
  
"These homo sapiens are nothing but bigoted idiotic fools, my friend." The voice said. "You and I, we are the next generation to take over this world and rule it as our own. We are the homo superior." Kurt heard footsteps coming towards and he turned his head to one side, seeing the man walking towards him.  
  
He was an old man, but he didn't look or act that way. He was dressed in maroon armor, a cloak fluttering behind him slightly. On his head, he wore a strange looking helmet that completely covered his head except for his mouth and ice blue eyes. The man crouched down beside Kurt and looked at him calmly.  
  
"It hurts doesn't it? Having people stare at you like a freak and call you a demon just because you are one of the chosen and they are not?" he asked, making the chains fly into his hands and wrap around his arm. He smiled slowly, looking at Kurt calmly.  
  
"I know what you want. You want to be accepted and seen as a normal person like you are." He said softly. "If you join me, you will be able to fight for that right, and get your revenge on those who did this to you, who tried to murder you just because you look different from them. Do you wish to join me and my cause?" he asked.  
  
"Oh yes, I want to join you." Kurt almost whispered, looking at the man with glittering eyes. "But what is your name?" he asked. The man smiled slightly, holding out his hand.  
  
"My name is Magneto and I know all about you, Nightcrawler." He said. "Now come on, I'll carry you to my base and help wrap those wounds up." Smiling slowly at his old circus name, Kurt reached up and took Magneto's hand, gritting his teeth and stifling a whimper as he sat up.  
  
Slowly, Magneto eased one arm under Kurt's legs and he used the other under his arms. Standing up, he started to walk away, One of Kurt's arms around his neck to stay steady. Kurt looked at Magneto with a faint smile, believing his life would be much better now that he had found someone that understood him and accepted him for what he was. 


	2. Chapter Two

Piotr Rasputin was not one to cause problems with the soldiers on his collective farm. He worked as hard as he could and for as long as the soldiers wanted, keeping his mouth shut and his ears deaf to the taunts they made. He even steeled his body to the blows they sometimes dealt him when they claimed he wasn't working hard enough for the good of the Russian people.  
  
There was only one thing that made Piotr soft. It was his little sister Illyana. Even though she was only a little girl, they had her working too, carrying around small bushels of hay and whatnot when she wasn't carrying the bucket of water and ladle for the workers. Piotr was a good brother and always tried his best to protect her from any harm.  
  
He was working in the field when he heard the buzzing sound of one of the tractors. Normally, he didn't notice this, this was a farm after all and farms used tractors, but for some reason he felt the urge to look up and when he did, his heart leapt up into his throat as his eyes grew wide.  
  
The fool in the tractor had pulled the lever too hard and now it was stuck at high speed. How many times had he been told not to pull hard on the lever because it got stuck easily? Now, the idiot was destroying their crops but worse, he was heading for Illyana who wasn't paying attention!  
  
Illyana thought that the tractor was simply going its rounds as usual, nothing out of the ordinary on a farm. Besides, she had found an ant farm and the little black creatures were so fascinating that she just had to stop and look at them for a little bit. When she heard her brother shouting her name, she finally turned around and when she saw the tractor coming towards her, she froze.  
  
It was a deer in headlights situation; that was what Piotr saw right away when she froze. He shouted for her to get out of the way but she didn't move, staring at the oncoming tractor with wide blue eyes, her golden hair blowing behind her. Biting his lip, Piotr looked from the tractor to Illyana and he barely thought as he ran in front of her and hugged her tightly against him, praying to any deity who would listen to protect them both. He imagined some kind of metal shield around them and closed his eyes tightly as the tractor came on them.  
  
There was a loud metallic screeching sound and shrapnel flew all over, all of them bent and twisted in odd angles. Out of all of this rubble, not one of them was a body part or covered in blood. Everyone around them stared in wonder as the black smoke slowly died away.  
  
Terrified that he had killed two of his comrades, the idiot stumbled out of the wrecked tractor and he slowly walked towards the front, his whole body trembling with fear of his own life when the soldiers found out about this. His eyes grew wide with everyone else's when he saw Piotr and his sister.  
  
Piotr's eyes were closed tightly, his arms still wrapped tightly around his sister's small body. He didn't open his eyes when the noise died down, too afraid that his sister was hurt. It never occurred to him to wonder why he was still alive.  
  
Illyana slowly wriggled her head from her big brother's grasp and she looked at his arms in surprise. Looking up at his face, her mouth made a small "o" in wonder and she slowly smiled a bit, thinking back to a smuggled book he had once read to her about a girl named Dorothy in a land called Oz and her friends.  
  
"Brother, you are the Tin Man!" she giggled, smiling up at him. "You're all shiny and made out of metal just like him!"  
  
At her words, Piotr opened his eyes and he looked down at her in surprise. Her looked into her eyes first, too stunned for words until he saw his arms. They were pure silver steel. Slowly, he let go of her and he stood up, looking down at his body. From head to toe Piotr was covered in steel, his clothes having ripped in a few places from the strain. Looking at the tractor, he saw a clear indent of where it had smashed into him. The tractor was completely demolished, but he and his sister were completely fine.  
  
"My God, I just turned into metal!" he said, not noticing the looks everyone around him was given him and his sister. Looking at Illyana, he raised his eyebrows a bit and he helplessly smiled a bit. When he looked around at the others, his smile died away as he saw the look of disgust and contempt on their faces. He could see that things would turn ugly soon enough so he leaned down and scooped his sister up in his arms.  
  
"I think we need to head home, snow flake." He said softly, looking around at the others warily.  
  
"But it's not time for us to go home, brother. Won't the soldiers get mad at us?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Slowly, Piotr shook his head as he started to walk away.  
  
"Nyet, they won't be angry with us this time." He promised her softly. He walked past the guards without a word, everyone watching him silently and yet warily at the same time.  
  
When Piotr got him, his mother took one look at him and quickly shut the door behind him, shutting the curtains quickly. When she turned back to him, she looked at his shirt and sighed, shaking her head a bit.  
  
"That is going to take a long time for me to fix up you know." She said, making him take it off. "What happened, Piotr?" she asked, sitting down and letting Illyana rest on her lap. Piotr was about to sit in a chair when he thought better of it and simply sat on the floor.  
  
"Snow flake was about to get run over by a tractor. I ran up and grabbed her, covering her with my body. That's all I remember besides wishing a metal shield protected us both." He said.  
  
"Piotr turned into the Tin Man, mama!" Illyana giggled, twirling a stray strand of hair around her finger.  
  
"Da, now if I can figure out how I can turn back, that would be nice." Piotr sighed, looking down at his metal hands. Slowly, his mother stood up and headed for the kitchen.  
  
"Try and figure it out, Piotr. I'll start to sew up your shirt. In the mean time, you must not step out of this house. I have a feeling our comrades are not happy about your sudden powers." She said over her shoulder.  
  
Nodding quietly, Piotr looked down at his hands and narrowed his eyes, trying to force the metal away. It didn't work. Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to make the metal go away. If thinking about a metal shield made it come, maybe thinking of the shield going away would make the steel go away. He heard clinking and felt himself get lighter. Opening his eyes, he found that he had normal flesh once more. He smiled a bit and he stood up.  
  
That night was quiet, everyone in the house staying inside and not bothering to look inside. They knew that the people hated them now. There had been leaks of people with special abilities springing up all over the world. The people were being called Mutants nowadays. They were forced to ignore every knock and thump on their doors, learning from the first few that they were simply stones wrapped in papers with threats written on them.  
  
Piotr was ready to leave his home so his family could be safe when he heard a knock on the door. He was ready to ignore it when it listened to it. It was more of a polite knocking, with a happy beat to it almost. Cocking an eyebrow, he slowly opened the door and found himself looking at a stranger with his face covered in a wide brimmed hat and wearing a covering trench coat.  
  
"Can I help you?" he asked, uncertain about this stranger dressed so oddly. The stranger lifted his head and Piotr saw that his eyes were golden and glowed with no pupils in plain sight. The edges of the eyes crinkled up in a smile slowly.  
  
"May I come in?" the stranger asked. Piotr recognized his accent as a German one. He nodded slightly and he stepped back, letting the German stranger with strange eyes enter his home, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Danke, mein herr." The stranger said, slowly removing his hands from his pockets. Piotr couldn't help but stare at them. They were cobalt blue and covered in fur with only two large fingers and a thumb. When the man removed his hat, he raised his eyebrows as he saw his blue furred face and pointed ears. The man smiled at his reaction and he saw fangs clearly.  
  
"He's an Elf!" Illyana laughed, pointing at him. Piotr winced, thinking she had upset the man when he looked at her, but his worry vanished as the man burst into laughter.  
  
"Believe vhat you vish, liebe! It is better to be an Elf zhen a demon!" the German said, slowly removing his coat. The German was wearing a plain white shirt and blue jeans, his feet without shoes for obvious reasons. His tail unwrapped itself from his waist and swayed behind him as he turned to Piotr.  
  
"I am here to make you an important proposition." He said, slowly walking up to a chair. "May I?" he asked.  
  
"Da, of course." Piotr said, slowly sitting down across from him at a small table. The German perched on top of it and looked around the room for a moment before he turned to Piotr.  
  
"How long have you known about your power?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.  
  
"I just found out about it today when I saved my sister from a tractor." Piotr answered. "Why?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Mein herr, my name vas once Kurt Vagner but now, I am Nightcrawler. Like you, I am a Mutant." Nightcrawler said calmly, smiling slowly as he looked over at Illyana who was staring at his tail in wonder. Calmly, he flicked it back and forth, looping it around her hand for a moment before unwrapping it. He turned back to Piotr and became serious.  
  
"Zhis vorld does not accept us, as you vell know from zhose stones und looks." He said. "I myself dealt vith hatred und I vas nearly murdered for looking zhese vay." He said. Very slowly, he lifted his feet and showed them to Piotr.  
  
At one time, they had been covered in fine fur like the rest of his body but now, they were hairless and burnt horribly. Piotr winced visibly as he saw that the scars went all the way up to Nightcrawler's ankles, only some of the fur starting to grow back. Calmly Nightcrawler lowered his feet back to the floor, his tail flicking back and forth slightly.  
  
"Disgusting vhat zhey do us, ja?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "They vill most likely try to kill you und your family too, mein freund. I und my boss Magneto vill not allow zhat to happen to a fellow Mutant und his innocent family." He said.  
  
"What are you offering my son?" Piotr's mother asked, slowly walking up and placing down a tea tray.  
  
"Freedom." Nightcrawler answered, taking a teacup with his tail calmly. "Mein boss is starting a group called zhe Brotherhood. Ve are fighting for zhe rights Mutants deserve." He explained, sipping lightly from his cup.  
  
"What kind of fighting?" Piotr asked warily. Nightcrawler smiled slowly, showing his fangs in an almost pleasant manner as he tilted his head to one side fondly looking at him.  
  
"Any kind ve need to do." He said. "Do not vorry, ve vill only fight vith our fists vhen ve must." He added, seeing the look on Piotr's face.  
  
"And if I join this Brotherhood, what will be done about my family?" Piotr asked. Nightcrawler looked over at Illyana and allowed her to play with his tail.  
  
"Zhey vill be protected of course." He promised. He rested his hand over his heart. "I swear zhis on mein own life." He added, looking Piotr in the eyes. Piotr looked at the table for a moment, thinking quietly to himself for a moment before he looked to his mother and then back to Nightcrawler with a faint smile.  
  
"All right then, Nightcrawler." Piotr said. "I will join you." Smiling, Nightcrawler finished his tea and he stood up, picking Illyana up and resting her on his shoulders.  
  
"Wonderful!" he said. He stopped for a moment and thought to himself. "You vill need a name." He said.  
  
"My name is Piotr. . ."  
  
"Nein nein nein, mein herr." Nightcrawler shook his head. "Zhat is your old name. You need a new name. One zhat explains your powers." He explained. He looked Piotr over with his head tilted to one side and he slowly smiled, winking at him.  
  
"I have it." He said finally.  
  
"What is it?" Piotr asked.  
  
"I zhink you are. . . Colossus!" he said with determination. Piotr laughed softly, resting his hands on his hips a bit as he looked at Nightcrawler.  
  
"Colossus?" he repeated, thinking about it. He smiled and nodded a bit, shaking Nightcrawler's hand. "I like it!" 


	3. Chapter Three

The past five years were full of victories and defeats for the Brotherhood, and it wasn't just because of battles with the X-men either. It seems that Xavier had been busy recruiting other mutants for his cause of co-existence between humans and mutants. He had gotten the Canadian Logan and the African goddess Ororo Monroe while Magneto was collecting Nightcrawler who in turn got Colossus on their side. Some of the people Xavier had been able to get could have really helped in the Brotherhood's cause.  
  
Nightcrawler assured Magneto often, mostly after a defeat from the X- men; that it was all right that the ones they had been able to recruit were enough to fight for their just cause. They had been able to collect Toad, Blob, Lorelei, Mastermind, Unus, Colossus, and the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who did not know that Magneto was their father.  
  
Nevertheless, Magneto felt that he needed a better assurance that they would be able to win the war when it was all said and done. He pointed out that in the battles they had with the X-men, the X-men had been able to defeat them quite easily with their majority of strong mutants. Magneto planned on making an alliance with Mystique to build up their forces together to fight the X-men.  
  
So here Nightcrawler was, in the kitchen with his friend Colossus cooking dinner for the two teams that would be dining together in a few more hours. Stooping over, he opened the door to the oven and he lightly poked each five-pound turkey with the tip of his tail. Sighing, he stood up and shut the oven, shaking his head.  
  
"Look at us, Colossus! Two strong varriors like us vearing aprons und baking bread like old maids!" he said, his tail flicking to one side in disgust. Laughing, Colossus slapped Nightcrawler upside the head with a wet rag.  
  
"You're one to talk, Nightcrawler! I've been doing all of the cooking and baking so far!" Rubbing the back of his head, Nightcrawler swung his tail at Colossus and he missed.  
  
"I have been vorking on zhe stew!" he said, pointing to the large black pot. "It is not an easy task, mein freund! I am using Margali's recipe und it is a very delicate zhing to make I assure you!" Colossus rolled his eyes and gave up, going back to rolling out the dough for dinner rolls.  
  
A while later, Mystique and her group arrived at their headquarters. Her group consisted of Destiny, Avalanche, Pyro, and her adopted Rogue. When everyone sat down at the table, Toad nudged Nightcrawler and pointed to the stripe in Rogue's hair. The two were forced to hide their mouths with their hands to try and calm down their snickering.  
  
"I'm really curious about this alliance you're proposing. I mean you don't really have anything to offer my team." Mystique said. Nightcrawler shot to his feet, his tail lashing around wildly. He opened his mouth to say something nasty when Scarlet Witch took him by the elbow and pulled him back down lightly, shaking her head.  
  
Mystique looked over at Nightcrawler and her eyes sparkled with unknown emotion. She gave him a scornful smile and turned to Magneto, pointing to Nightcrawler with one red fingernail.  
  
"You see? Even your followers are unrestrained with you right here to witness see it for yourself!" She said. "Tell me again why we should join together?"  
  
"Nightcrawler is simply loyal to my cause in an extreme way, which I for one happen to think a noble and useful attribute about him." Magneto said, giving Nightcrawler a warning glance to keep him quiet. "As for our battles with the X-men, you've lost many battles with them too, despite Destiny's powers of seeing the future." Mystique's cheeks turned purple as she narrowed her eyes into yellow slits.  
  
As the leaders started to argue and deal back and forth, the others started to eat and talk together quietly. Nightcrawler was quiet, leaning forward slightly as he listened intently to everything Magneto and Mystique said to each other.  
  
"Pass the taters?" Breaking out of his trance, Nightcrawler turned his head and found himself looking at Rogue. Seeing the confused look on Nightcrawler's face, she pointed to the bowl of mashed potatoes that was near him.  
  
"Pass those over?" she asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. Shaking his head to clear it, Nightcrawler used his tail and handed it over to her, turning back to the conversation between Mystique and Magneto at once. Rogue laughed softly as she scooped some out onto her plate.  
  
"Tha' thin' mus' be real useful in battles huh?" she asked, looking up at him as she poured some gravy over them. Nightcrawler gave up trying to hear them and he turned to her nodding.  
  
"It helps me use mein third rapier." He said, pouring himself a bowl of the stew. He looked up at her and offered her some with the ladle. She held up her bowl and he poured some in.  
  
"Vhat is your power any vay?" he asked, starting to eat.  
  
"Ah kin take other mutant's powahs." She said with a shrug. "Ah can' touch any'un because o' tha' too. Et sucks really." She sighed, holding up a gloved hand to show him. Kurt tilted his head to one side as he thought about it.  
  
"Do you control vhat you take?" he asked, breaking a farl in half and dipping it into the stew.  
  
"Nah, et doesn' las' too long either." She said. "Ah'm not sure 'ow et works exactly." She admitted. Kurt took a bite from his farl as he thought about it and he smiled faintly.  
  
"Do you zhink zhat if you held on long enough, it vould stay vith you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow faintly.  
  
"No, wot ar' ya gittin' at?" Rogue asked. Nightcrawler smiled and pointed to Mystique.  
"Tell your mutter zhat if she joins us, I may have a vay to help you get your own abilities permanently." He said. Rogue looked at him curiously, half out of her seat all ready.  
  
"Wot do ya have up yer sleeve?" she asked. Nightcrawler smirked and wagged his tail at her.  
  
"I vill only say once your mutter joins us!" he said. Laughing softly, Rogue walked up to Mystique and whispered in her ear. Mystique looked from her adopted daughter to Nightcrawler with narrowed eyes.  
  
"What do you have in mind for my daughter, Nightcrawler?" she asked. Nightcrawler calmly used the other half of his farl to soak up the remains of his stew before he spoke to her.  
  
"Ve are planning on performing a sneak attack on zhe Avengers." He explained. "One of zheir members, Marvel Girl is new und she is not very good in battle but, she is strong und can fly. I have a plan zhat vill give Rogue zhese powers permanently but you must join zhe ranks of zhe Brotherhood to get it." He added, narrowing his eyes a bit.  
  
"Please, mama? 'is plan could work." Rogue prodded, nudging her mother lightly with an elbow. Mystique sighed softly and she thought it over, finally turning to Magneto.  
  
"We'll join you, but if Nightcrawler's plan should fail, we have the right to leave at once." She said, holding out her hand. Nodding Magneto took her hand and they shook on it.  
  
After dinner, Nightcrawler took it upon himself to show Rogue her new room. He laughed softly and hopped up the stairs talking to her freely now that the worry about getting new members was over.  
  
"You vill like your room." He assured her, looking over his shoulder as he leapt up onto a ladder. "It is nice und cool in zhe summer und varm in zhe vinter. I use zhe bedroom next to it so zhat you vill not have to vorry about getting lost or anyzhing like zhat vith me!" Rogue laughed, following him and shaking her head.  
  
"Wot made ye so 'appy all o' a sudden?" she asked, sitting down on her new bed. Nightcrawler shrugged, opening the curtains to show her the full view of the night sky. "At dinnah ye were all sullen an' quiet."  
  
"I am only serious vhen business is needed to be made." He said simply. "Vhen zhere is none, I can be quite zhe party animal!" he laughed.  
  
"'ow long 'ave ye been wi' Magneto?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Five years." Nightcrawler said, not even needing to think about it. "Und zhose five years have been vonderful for me." He added with a toothy grin as he perched on a chair beside her bed.  
  
"How long have you been vith Mystique?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. Rogue looked up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking for a moment.  
  
"Since Ah was fifteen so. . .'bout ten years Ah've been wi' 'er." She said finally with a smile. Looking down, she frowned slightly and looked back at Nightcrawler. "Wot made ye join Magneto?" she asked.  
  
"Vhy do you ask?" Nightcrawler asked.  
  
"Soomethin' tells me yer scars on yer legs ar' the reason." She explained pointing to them calmly. Nightcrawler looked down at his feet and he shrugged, telling her his story as if it bored him.  
  
When he finished, he flicked his tail faintly and looked out the window for a moment before he turned back to Rogue.  
  
"Und you? Vhy did you go to Mystique?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Ah ran away from 'ome." Rogue explained. "Mah daddy was always beatin' me. Et was tha', an' Ah kissed a boy an' put 'im in a coma." She added with a wince. Nightcrawler smiled and wagged his tail at her calmly.  
  
"Don't you vorry about zhat. I am sure ve vill be able to find a vay to help vith zhat little problem in time. Tomorrow, ve vill get you your own powers!" he said, standing up. "Guten Nacht." He said before teleporting out of her room.  
  
Nightcrawler stayed up most of the night, writing out and mapping out his plan to help Rogue get her own powers from one of the Avengers. Calmly, he circled Marvel Girl's name and he smirked, finishing his plans up for the next day. 


	4. Chapter Four

"I vill be able to handle zhis mission on mein own, Magneto." Nightcrawler assured him the next morning as his chosen comrades got ready to leave.  
  
"Are you sure about that, Nightcrawler? This mission is very important for us." Magneto said. "I would be able to get us out of there if anything should go wrong."  
  
"Nothing shall go vrong, mein herr." Nightcrawler said seriously. "I have planned it all out und ve vill crush zhe Avengers vith ease." He laughed softly. "I may even be able to stop und go shopping aftervards!" Laughing softly, Magneto placed an arm around Nightcrawler's shoulders as they headed for their jet.  
  
"I know I can count on you, Nightcrawler. Be careful when dealing with them." He said. Smiling, Nightcrawler saluted before he boarded the jet and they started off, heading for an abandoned construction site.  
  
When the jet landed, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Colossus, Quicksilver, Lorelei, and Mastermind got off, Nightcrawler giving everyone their orders and positions quickly before he turned to Rogue with wink.  
  
"You und I vill be hiding out und vaiting for our chance to give you powers forever!" he said with a laugh. Taking her gloved hand, he teleported into the control panel of a wrecking ball. He sat down on the controls and looked out the windows, his tail swaying back and forth slightly.  
  
"Ya sure this will work?" Rogue asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. Nightcrawler smiled nodding.  
  
"Ja, I promise you on mein honor zhat zhis vill vork und you shall have your own powers!" he said, getting tense as he heard the Avengers coming. "Be ready." He said softly, shifting a bit.  
  
Captain America issued orders at once, pointing to different areas around the site, knowing that the Brotherhood were around here somewhere. Before they could get moving, Mastermind caused them to believe that the whole site was collapsing in on itself, making a few of them run needlessly around.  
  
Quicksilver took that moment to charge right at Wasp, performing a baseball slide. He was going so fast that when he smashed into her legs, they snapped and she collapsed to the ground with a howl, her wings beating uselessly on the ground. Laughing, he got back up and ran circles around the others.  
  
Frowning, Captain America threw his arm back and he hurled his shield at Quicksilver. It struck his shoulder and he fell over with a wince. When Captain America caught his shield and got ready to throw it at Lorelei, Colossus grabbed his arm and hurled him into a pile of trash.  
  
Nightcrawler watched with a smile as Colossus and Captain America battled together, their strength matching as Colossus tried to overpower Captain America. He looked over at Marvel Girl who was flying up and looking for Mastermind to try and stop his mind games. As she flew towards their hideout, Nightcrawler turned to Rogue and signaled for her to take off her gloves.  
  
"Get ready, Rogue." He said. He teleported swiftly down to the ground and he let himself be seen by Marvel Girl. He waited for her to fly down at him before he grabbed her wrists and teleported her back into the wrecking ball control room.  
  
"Now!" Before Marvel Girl to do anything, Rogue grabbed her head with both of her hands. Her body jerked awkwardly as veins popped up on her head and neck, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head.  
  
"Keep holding her!" Nightcrawler said, seeing Rogue start to get weak. "Just keep holding on until I say let go all right?" Rogue nodded faintly as she stumbled back with Marvel Girl, her body trembling as if she was being electrocuted.  
  
Nightcrawler watched almost in awe as Marvel Girl's body slowly started to shrivel up, her hands held out to him for help. He stepped back and watched as her body became limp and suddenly crumpled to dust.  
  
Rogue gasped and looked at the pile of dust in fear. She looked at Nightcrawler and then down at her hands again. Nightcrawler smiled and he held out her gloves, helping her put them on carefully.  
  
"Rogue, go out zhere und fight zhem." He said. "It is all right. Zhey are defending zhe humans who vould kill us." He said to comfort her. Nodding, Rogue leapt out of the control room and with some concentration, she found herself flying like a rocket at Captain America with one fist held out.  
  
Colossus looked up and when he saw Rogue flying towards them, he smiled and stepped back, confusing Captain America. Before he could get ready, Rogue landed a punch in his face, which sent him flying into the air. Laughing, she landed on her feet and she looked around.  
  
Quicksilver rubbed his arm lightly and he looked around, narrowing his eyes a bit. He turned to Nightcrawler and pointed to their jet.  
  
"We need to get out of here before anyone of these people gets up and tries to fight us again." He said. Nightcrawler shrugged and he trotted to the jet calmly.  
  
"As you vish, Quicksilver." He said, as the ramp lowered down for them. Boarding the jet, they left the Avengers behind, one of them dead, their leader unconscious, one of them with broken legs, and the others left confused and needing desperate help.  
  
When they got back to their headquarters, Nightcrawler told Magneto and Mystique all about their exploits, including Marvel Girl turning to dust in Rogue's hands when she held on tightly.  
  
"Und now, I promise you zhat Rogue vill alvays have flight und super strength just like Marvel Girl once had." He finished, placing an arm around Rogue's shoulders. "I zhink our mission vas a success!" Laughing, Rogue ruffled his hair with her gloved hand.  
  
"Ya got mah gratitude, fuzzy elf!" she said, missing the look in Mystique's eyes. 


	5. Chapter Five

Over the years in the Brotherhood, Nightcrawler, Rogue, and Colossus formed a tight bond, Rogue even going so far as to call Nightcrawler her brother; despite Mystique's insistence that she simply call him Nightcrawler and not brother so much. Rogue ignored her mother and called Nightcrawler whatever she wanted.  
  
Since the attack on the Avengers, the Brotherhood was able to shut them down; leaving many cities open for attacks and raids to further their cause for mutant freedom from human oppressors. The only thorn in their side was the X-men, who always seemed to be where they shouldn't, and ALWAYS seemed to beat the Brotherhood whenever the two clashed.  
  
Nightcrawler blamed himself since he was the one who made their battle plans and usually lead the battles against them. Magneto insisted that it wasn't and simply meant that they needed to train harder and that they would be able to beat the X-men one day. In the mean time, the more factories they attacked, the further their dream would get to completion.  
  
Mystique and Nightcrawler did not get along, period. When Mystique wasn't insulting everything Nightcrawler did, Nightcrawler was pulling pranks on her or getting Rogue to come and have fun with him and the others when Mystique had forbade it. Nevertheless, some of the others saw a little something that always passed in Mystique's eyes when she left Nightcrawler after an argument. It was as if she was hiding a secret or something from him.  
  
Tonight's argument was a really bad one. Mystique had stepped upon Nightcrawler's tail, and now the two were shouting at each other like they always did. Toad and Pyro tried to defuse the situation, each one trying to talk either Nightcrawler or Mystique out of the fight.  
  
Needless to say, it was not working a bit.  
  
" Hoi! Come on, Kurt! All ya gotta do is back down and we won't have any trouble ok, mate?" Toad said, resting a hand on Nightcrawler's shoulder. He was rewarded with a smack across the face with Nightcrawler's tail.  
  
"Come on, Mystique. There's no reason to get into a rut over an accident!" Pyro said, trying to pull her back by her arms.  
  
"Zhat vas no accident!" Nightcrawler shouted, baring his fangs dangerously. "She stepped on my tail deliberately! I'm going to make you pay for zhat, Mystique!"  
  
"I would really like to see you try it!" Mystique shouted back. "You weak ungrateful bastard!"  
  
"Ungrateful?! Ungrateful for vhat?!" he shouted, dragging Toad with him as he stepped towards her.  
  
"You ungrateful bastard! I could have shot you or even stabbed you when I had the chance! All I did was let you fall down that waterfall!" Mystique shrieked without thinking about what she was saying.  
  
"Vhen did I fall over a vaterfall?!" Nightcrawler asked.  
  
"When you were a stupid fluffy baby! I let you fall because there was a chance you would make it out alive again! You're an ungrateful son!" she shouted.  
  
Everything in the room got quiet. Nightcrawler stared at Mystique with wide eyes, stopping his struggling with Toad completely. Pyro looked at her with raised eyebrows. She looked at them in confusion until she realized what she had said. When she looked at Nightcrawler and opened her mouth to say something, she made a faint noise but nothing else.  
  
Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Nightcrawler teleported away to his room.  
  
"Oh damn it all to Hell." Mystique groaned, placing a hand over her eyes and shaking her head.  
  
"I told you he would find out one day." Destiny said calmly from her heavily cushioned armchair. "You never listen to me when you should, Mystique. That's your problem right there."  
  
"Well how am I going to fix this?" Mystique snapped.  
  
"You won't have to." Destiny said calmly. "Your daughter will fix it just fine on her own."  
  
As Destiny assured Mystique about her family, Rogue climbed the ladder to her shared room with Nightcrawler and found him perched on the railing of the balcony, looking up at the full moon.  
  
"Nightcrawler?" she asked softly, slowly walking up beside him. He turned his head away and wiped an arm over his face too quickly to be nonchalant. When he turned back to Rogue, he smiled faintly and shrugged.  
  
"I suppose zhis makes me your bruder, ja?" he asked softly, cocking an eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Ah knew yer upset. . ."  
  
"Upset?! Ve've been a team for years und now she lets slip zhat I am her son? Ach mist!" he growled, shaking his head.  
  
"Nightcrawler. . ."  
  
"Und zhen she says I am ungrateful! Vhat should I be grateful for huh? She threw me over a vaterfall!" Nightcrawler shouted into the night air. He bowed his head and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly.  
  
"Would ya prefer nevah knowin'?" Rogue asked, tilting his head towards him slowly. Nightcrawler sighed, shaking his head slowly.  
  
"Nein, I suppose not." He admitted. "But still. . ." he left it open and shrugged a bit.  
  
"If et makes ya feel bettah; Ah thin' yer a grea' big brother." Rogue said, placing an arm around his shoulders. "An' if ya would only try a liddle bit ta git along wi' 'er, Ah'm sure we could be a family."  
  
Nightcrawler snorted softly, his tail swaying side to side lazily.  
  
"Zhat vill be hard." He said. "But for you, I vill try mein best." Laughing softly, they hugged as they heard someone's footsteps. Looking up, they saw Mystique coming over slowly. Nightcrawler's tail curled up slowly and he looked at her.  
  
"Guten nacht, mein mutter." He said softly, smiling a bit.  
  
"Nightcrawler. . ." He waved his tail dismissively, letting it fall limp once more.  
  
"Ve have time to talk later." He said. "Sit down und vatch zhe stars vith us." Mystique sat down between them both, looking up at the stars quietly.  
  
Tilting his head to one side, Nightcrawler slowly made his tail wrap around Rogue and Mystique, giving them both a slight squeeze in gratitude. 


	6. Chapter Six

Nightcrawler was becoming bolder with his battle plans against their enemies. With help from his mother and Destiny, he wrote out and drew up plans to attack the mansion the X-men lived in by cover of night. He planned on having the Brotherhood break up into two teams; one led by Mastermind and the other by himself. Mastermind would use his powers to confuse the security systems and first defenders while Nightcrawler led his team inside the school to attack from the inside out.  
  
Waiting for the cover of night, Nightcrawler and Mastermind got their teams into position, ready to strike on Nightcrawler's signal. He stared with narrowed eyes at the lit windows of the mansion. When the last light went off, he turned his head in Mastermind's direction, his yellow eyes easily seen through the branches of the tree.  
  
Mastermind worked swiftly, using his powers to scramble the cameras and laser grids long enough for Toad to spit goop into them and make them useless. As Mastermind's team headed for the front, Nightcrawler's headed for the top. Some of the X-men came out and started to battle with Mastermind and the others. Cyclops led the defense with Beast, Angel, Iceman, Shadowcat, and her dragon Lockheed.  
  
Turning into steel, Colossus raised both of fists and slammed them hard on the roof, his attack muffled by Avalanche's down below. They leapt into the hole and found themselves in the attic.  
  
"You lead now, mein herr." Nightcrawler said, turning to Magneto with a smile. Taking the lead, Magneto led them towards Cerebro. They were rounding a corner with something exploded in a pink flash in Magneto's eyes, sending him reeling back.  
  
They hadn't known that the X-men had recruited a new member. He was dressed in a duster jacket with blue armor on his legs and a black and red shirt under the jacket. He also wore cut off leather gloves that let his fingers work more freely. His red on black eyes sparkled as he flipped cards from one hand to the other.  
  
"Gambit t'ink y' bettah leave." He said, the card filling up with kinetic energy slowly. They quickly dived away as he hurled the card at them, ripping up some of the carpet as it exploded lightly.  
  
"He's only one person! We can take him." Colossus said, charging at Gambit. A bolt of lightning sent him crashing through a wall into an empty dorm room.  
  
"You should know better than to have come here!" Storm shouted, narrowing her eyes.  
  
SNIKT!  
  
Nightcrawler found himself being attacked by Wolverine; who was still furious about the disbanding of the Avengers because of the death of Marvel Girl. He barely was able to teleport away in time, finding two wounds in his side. Drawing his rapiers, he leapt at Wolverine with a snarl.  
  
Unus narrowed his eyes and he slowly concentrated on the force field around him, making it slowly become stronger and wider. He made it press up against the walls and make them crumble, giving them some more room to work with as he charged at Storm and bowled her over.  
  
Cannonball erupted from behind and was about to smash into Lorelei when the Blob expanded and caught him in his blubber, sending him flying backwards.  
  
Nightcrawler cried out in pain as a full set of claws dug into his shoulder. Snarling angrily, he teleported with Wolverine outside and continued to do so all over the grounds, hoping to render the madman comatose. When he stopped and stumbled back, he was surprised to see the damned Canadian still standing and barely sick at all.  
  
"Healing factor." Wolverine growled, lunging forward with both sets of claws ready.  
  
Gambit twirled his bo stick swiftly, barely missing Rogue's nose. She kicked up and he flew a few feet before he landed in a crouch. He had barely gotten up when she flew at his chest with a fist extended.  
  
"Y' really gittin' on Gambit's nerves, chere!" he said, using his bo stick to deflect the attack. They fought bo stick to fists for a bit until she grabbed it and was about to throw it when she realized it had been charged and erupted. She fell back and was ready to get up when Gambit held her down. He winked at her furious face.  
  
"Dis was fun, non?" he asked. Rogue got a hand free and punched him hard, knocking him into a wall.  
  
Nightcrawler was smashed hard against a tree, his bones screaming in red-hot agony as he threw himself to the side, just missing being skewered by Wolverine. He used his tail to whip him in the face, giving him a few seconds to run on all fours and get some more distance between the two.  
  
Grabbing his rapiers, he stood up shakily and held them crossed as Wolverine leapt at him and swiped at him, the blades clashing together and making sparks fly onto the ground. Grunting and panting, the two continued to battle, each one trying to stab at the other. Nightcrawler realized it was hopeless when he dealt Wolverine a killing blow, and the damned thing healed up a few seconds later!  
  
"Verdammt." He muttered, teleporting away to where Mastermind was holding off Beast.  
  
"I zhink perhaps ve should go, ja?" he asked.  
  
"Why?" Pyro asked from the side, making a herd of fire horses charge through some trees, setting them ablaze instantly.  
  
"Volverine will not go down at all. Ve need to retreat before ve lose a party member!" Nightcrawler said, cocking an eyebrow as Lockheed charged at him with a hiss. Raising his tail up, he slapped the little purple dragon and smashed it against Cyclops, sending the optic blast he was aiming at Avalanche into the mansion's wall.  
  
"Don't you think we should wait until Magneto gives the signal?" Toad asked. Nightcrawler sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Zhere is no time for zhis discussion!" he said. "Get ready to retreat!" he ordered, teleporting away.  
  
"Y' know, y' got pretty eyes dere, chere." Gambit said, dodging a kick in the head.  
  
"Shut up an' jus' figh'!" Rogue growled, lashing out with a broken table. Gambit leapt over it and landed on top of her.  
  
"Huh, dis mus' mean somethin' if we keep fallin' loik dis, non?" he asked. Rogue looked up at him with narrowed eyes, but she couldn't help but find his behavior a little funny. With one kick she sent him into a door. He just wasn't that funny.  
  
"Mein herr, I zhink ve should retreat." Nightcrawler said as he teleported behind Magneto. "Volverine is proving to be a nuisance und zhis new one is giving Rogue a hard time!"  
  
As he spoke, Gambit smashed through a wall and barely missed crashing into him. Rogue followed after him and tried to throttle the Cajun as he kicked her away and they ran back into the previous room.  
  
"See?" Nightcrawler said, cocking an eyebrow. Magneto looked around, his mind working swiftly as he slowly nodded.  
  
"It would not be wise to stay here. Tell the others to retreat." He said, starting to create a magnetic bubble around himself. Nightcrawler nodded and teleported on top of Gambit and slammed both of his rapier hilts against his head, finally knocking him out.  
  
"Ready to go?" he asked, smiling down at Rogue. She scowled and took his offered hand to help her up.  
  
"Ah could 'ave beaten 'im." She said. Nightcrawler rolled his eyes and simply teleported with her.  
  
"They're backing off!" Cyclops said, stepping back a bit. "Let them go! Lockheed! Shadowcat, make him get back here!" he shouted as the purple dragon chased after the Brotherhood. Shadowcat had to grab him tightly by the tail and pull to make him stop.  
  
Hours later found the Brotherhood back in their lair, most of them downstairs talking about the failed assault on the mansion.  
  
"I think we should have done some more surveillance before attacking the bloody place." Toad said. "You wouldn't have been so caught off guard by that new guy Gambit otherwise."  
  
"I know I know." Nightcrawler sighed, shaking his head in disgust. "I should have planned zhe attack better." He said. "Zhis defeat is all my fault."  
  
"We'll think of another way." Magneto assured him, resting a hand on his slumped shoulder. "It's not the end of the world you know."  
  
"I know but, I thought ve vould be able to stop zhe X-men now so zhat ve could finish off zhe humans for good." Nightcrawler said, standing up. "I'm feeling really tired right now. Guten Nacht, mein freunds." He said, heading for the rooms. He found Rogue on the balcony, looking at the stars.  
  
"You all right?" he asked, walking up.  
  
"Ah suppose." She said with a shrug.  
  
"Vhat is zhe matter?" he asked.  
  
"Tha' new guy, Gambit." She said. "'e was laughin' an' 'ittin' on me the whole toime. Why would 'e do tha'?" she asked. Nightcrawler shrugged a bit, his tail curling up a bit.  
  
"Because you are so cute?" he asked. Rogue laughed and lightly punched his arm.  
  
"Ah'm bein' serious!" she said.  
  
"So am I!" Nightcrawler laughed. "Vell, vhat ever zhe reason is, you vatch yourself! Sometimes, I thought you vere letting him vin und ve cannot have zhat." He said seriously. Rogue looked him in the eyes and the two of them stared at each other for a few moments in silence, communicating volumes without any words.  
  
Rogue had fallen for the X-man Gambit. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Nightcrawler figured it didn't need to take a rocket scientist to know what was the matter with Rogue, despite the fact that both Mystique and Magneto had no idea why she wasn't fighting her hardest anymore. Nightcrawler saw it plainly every time he mentioned another attack on the X- men.  
  
Rogue was in love with one of their enemies.  
  
He didn't know which one it was yet, but he was able to rule out Beast, Cyclops, and Wolverine out right away due to their looks and Cyclops' annoying nature and relationship with the one simply called Jean Grey.  
  
So which one was it?  
  
After two weeks of his discovery, he finally noticed that every other Saturday, Rogue went off on her own and often snuck back into their headquarters very late at night happy and almost breathless. He put two and two together and he figured out that she was going out with whoever she was in love with.  
  
Which explains why Nightcrawler was prowling in the dark, following his foster sister. His suspicions proved true as she snuck onto the mansion grounds and headed for the woods in the back, looking back constantly. He moved swiftly, swinging from tree to tree as he followed her deeper into the woods.  
  
Finally, she stopped near a small house beside a lake and a dock. A figure stepped out of the house and the two embraced tightly. Nightcrawler narrowed his eyes and slowly started to move in closer, trying to see who it was she was hugging. When he finally saw, he growled very faintly and shook his head a bit.  
  
Rogue was hugging Gambit.  
  
Later that night, (actually the next morning since it was two a.m.), Rogue slowly crept into her room and was about to get into bed and go to sleep when the light turned on.  
  
"Wot the. . ?"  
  
"Guten morgen, mein schwester." Nightcrawler was perched on a chair, his tail moving lazily side to side. He motioned for her to sit and he sighed softly, shaking his head a bit in disappointment.  
  
"I know vhere you vere und who you vere vith." He said softly.  
  
"Ah wasn' wi' any'un." Rogue lied uselessly. Nightcrawler shook his head as he closed his eyes.  
  
"I followed you, Rogue. You vent to zhe voods behind zhe mansion und met Gambit by zhe lake. I saw you!" he said. Rogue sat down on the bed limply, looking at the ground.  
  
"Ar' you goin' tae tell Magneto?" she asked weakly. Nightcrawler shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
"Nein, I von't tell anyone." He promised. "Tell me vhy you like him at least." He said. Rogue smiled faintly, shrugging a little.  
  
"You 'aven' talked tae 'im, Nightcrawler." She said. "e's sweet an' really funny when 'e wan's tae be. 'e gave me a gif' tae!" She got up and went to one of her drawers, taking out a small wooden bow from inside one of her shirts.  
  
"Look insoide!" she said handing it to Nightcrawler. When he opened the bow, he found a small crystal swan with jade eyes looking up at him. He sniffed, fingering the swan lightly.  
  
"I suppose he believes he can buy you, ja?" he asked.  
  
"'e does not thin' tha' way an' tha's not wot 'is gif' means!" Rogue snapped, taking the box back angrily. "Why can' you be 'appy fer me?" She regretted the words as soon as she said them when she saw the change in Nightcrawler's face to sadness. He looked away sharply, closing his eyes for a moment.  
  
"I hope you are happy vith him, Rogue." He said softly, standing up to go. Rogue took him gently by the arm and pulled him back into a tight hug.  
  
"Ah'm sorry." Rogue said seriously, looking up at him. "Don' be mad at me." Nightcrawler laughed softly and he hugged her back.  
  
"I could never stay angry vith you, liebe." He said, slowly letting go and stepping back a bit. "But zhere is one zhing you must understand, mein schwester. If Magneto or mutter find out about zhis, you und I vill be in deep trouble vith zhem und zhe others. If you vish to continue zhis relationship; vhich I know you vill, you must be careful und never let anyone else know about it. Understand?" he asked.  
  
"Ah unnerstan'." Rogue nodded, smiling a bit. "Ah won' let any'un know about this except you an' me." Nightcrawler smiled and nodded, heading for his room.  
  
"Make sure you keep it zhat vay!" he said over his shoulder.  
  
And thus, the stage was set for the Brotherhood's downfall. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch gave the first blow by leaving the Brotherhood and joining the new Avengers after it was revealed that Magneto was their father and partly responsible for their mother's death.  
  
It started slowly at first, Mastermind succumbed to the Legacy Virus he had contracted and died in agony, screaming and making everyone in the base see different images and things before he finally died.  
  
With Mastermind's death, there came the fights within the ranks of the Brotherhood, members like Blob and Avalanche starting to question Magneto's orders and Mystique's friend Destiny with her powers. Before it was over the two had gotten most of the members to leave the Brotherhood.  
  
Magneto had also started to change. In one of their missions, he had been lost on a mountain with Charles Xavier, and when Nightcrawler and the rest were able to get to him and bring back, he was changed somehow. He didn't want to attack their enemies anymore, and he often didn't go on attacks with them. When members started to leave, he barely took notice, telling Nightcrawler to simply let them go their own way.  
  
After a while of this, Mystique grew tired and she and Destiny left. Mystique asked Nightcrawler and Rogue to come with her, but the two declined, wanting to stay with Magneto.  
  
Now there were only four members left in the Brotherhood once it was all said and done Pyro, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Colossus, and Magneto. Pyro was prone to wandering around by himself, causing havoc and problems for the humans whenever the mood took him. When Nightcrawler scolded him about this, Magneto told him to let Pyro be, and Pyro continued to do whatever he wanted.  
  
Nightcrawler could tell that all was not well for the Brotherhood. They didn't go on any missions anymore and Magneto often kept to himself in his room, letting Pyro run amuck in the human cities. The only ones he had in the Brotherhood were his foster sister Rogue and his best friend Colossus.  
  
But the Legacy Virus wasn't finished messing with the Brotherhood. Colossus' sister Illyana contracted the disease and they couldn't figure out what to do to try and save her. The only thing Colossus could think of was asking help from Beast, who was working on a cure for the disease right now.  
  
"He is her only hope right now. I have to take her to him. He won't deny her help." He said. Nightcrawler shook his head.  
  
"Mein freund, if you go to zhe X-men zhen you might as vell stay vith zhem! Zhey are still our enemies und have caused us grieve in zhe past!" he argued angrily. Colossus looked down at his sick sister and then back at Nightcrawler.  
  
"I am sorry, my friend." He said, picking her up gently. "I am taking her to the X-men and staying with them until they find a cure for her."  
  
"Vhat if zhey don't cure her und she dies?" Nightcrawler asked seriously. Colossus shrugged, looking down at his weak sister.  
  
"Then I shall stay with them." Seeing the look on Nightcrawler's face, he held up a hand to keep him quiet for a moment.  
  
"Now listen to me for once. There is nothing left for us here with the Brotherhood. Magneto has not been the same since he has been with Xavier so maybe that means the X-men are right in what they do. Why don't you and Rogue join me?" he asked seriously.  
  
"I cannot." Nightcrawler said firmly. "I owe Magneto my life und you know zhat. I vill not abandon his dream of peace for Mutants everyvhere."  
  
"Why can't Mutants and Humans get along?" Colossus asked. "You read the Bible all the time, doesn't it say something about peace between people?" Nightcrawler looked away, his tail flicking to one side. Colossus nodded a bit, turning around to leave.  
  
"Good-bye my friend." He said softly, leaving.  
  
Three Weeks Later. . .  
  
Things had gone to hell after Colossus left the Brotherhood. Pyro decided that he didn't need to stay a member of the Brotherhood so he simply stopped returning after burning down a building or setting a field of crops on fire. Rogue and Nightcrawler became more concerned for Magneto day after day since all he did was stay in his room now, making them bring his meals to the door and leave it there. Nightcrawler feared that soon the Brotherhood would be over.  
  
Nightcrawler was perched on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the stars in the distant horizon, his tail curling and uncurling lazily. He didn't bother to look when he heard someone walking up beside him.  
  
"You are leaving." He said simply as Rogue sat down.  
  
"Ah 'ave tae." She said softly. "You kin come wi' me you know." She offered. Nightcrawler shook his head slowly.  
  
"I cannot. I owe him my life remember?" he said, looking up at her slightly. "It vould not be right for me to leave him now." Rogue rested a hand on his shoulder gently.  
  
"You don' 'ave tae stay 'ere, Nightcrawler. You an' 'im kin come wi' me tae the mansion." She offered.  
  
"He vould not come und you know zhat." He said softly. "I vould rather stay here vith him." He looked at her and he smiled very faintly. "You are going so zhat you can be closer to Gambit, ja?" he asked. Rogue laughed softly and nodded.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"I hope you two are happy together." He said honestly, resting a hand over her gloved one. "But give him zhis varning for me. If he should ever make you cry or hurt you in any vay, I shall come to zhe mansion und tear his body apart." He warned, narrowing his eyes slightly. Rogue laughed softly.  
  
"Ah'll be sure tae tell 'im." She promised with a nod. Nightcrawler smiled and the two hugged gently, Nightcrawler burying his face in the crook of Rogue's leather covered neck.  
  
"I vill miss you, mein schwester." He said softly.  
  
"An' Ah'll miss you tae, brother." She said, slowly letting go. Standing up, she left the room, leaving Nightcrawler behind and looking after her sadly.  
  
The next morning, Nightcrawler was in the living room laying on a couch when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Looking up, he saw Magneto coming down to meet with him. Quickly he sat up and teleported beside him, taking his arm lightly to help him down the stairs.  
  
"Mein herr, vhat are you doing out of your room?" he asked, worried for his master. Magneto looked around before he turned to Nightcrawler.  
  
"You are the only one left?" he asked. Nightcrawler nodded.  
  
"Ja, but you have nothing to worry about. I am sure others vill vant to join us und zhen. . ."  
  
"The dream is over, Nightcrawler."  
  
"Vas?" Magneto sat down in a chair and he looked at Nightcrawler with ice blue eyes that were soft with understanding the old tend to receive at some point in their lives.  
  
"My dream is done, Nightcrawler. It was a bad dream in the first place which caused many innocent people their lives and homes." Magneto looked up at Nightcrawler and he sighed softly. "It seems our enemies the X-men were in the right all along, and I say it is time to end my dream for good."  
  
"Nein, mein herr." Nightcrawler said, kneeling in front of Magneto. "You are vrong about zhis. Zhe Brotherhood. . ."  
  
"Is disbanded, Nightcrawler." Magneto said gently. "I am sorry, but it was wrongful things that he did." He said. "We have done nothing but caused problems. You need to realize this and move on."  
  
"But vhere shall I go from here? Everyone knows vhat I look like und I vill not last out zhere." Nightcrawler pointed out. Taking Nightcrawler's hand, Magneto placed a watch into it and closed his fingers around it.  
  
"This is an image inducer." He explained. "When you press the red button, you will be covered in a hologram that will make you look human. You will be safe outside with this."  
  
"Mein herr. . ."  
  
"Let go, Nightcrawler. I know it may be hard to do, but you must let go and move on from this. I am sorry that I ever started the Brotherhood." Magneto said. He gave Nightcrawler a large rolled up wad of money. "Try your best."  
  
"Zhe X-men vill not take me in." Nightcrawler pointed out.  
  
"Then don't join them. Go back to your family in Germany if you wish." Magneto said gently. "May you be safe in whatever path you choose. Forgive me for leading you astray." Nightcrawler bowed his head, putting on the image inducer and pressing the red button. He looked back up at Magneto and small tears were falling down his smooth pale cheeks.  
  
"You saved my life years ago, mein herr." He said softly. "Und I vill never forget zhat for all zhe vorld. I do not believe you have harmed me in any vay. If I could go back, I vould join you again, mein herr. Danke." He hugged Magneto around the neck for a moment, closing his eyes tightly before he slowly let go and walked out of the base alone.  
  
Two Months Later. . .  
  
Kitty Pryde; also known as Shadowcat, was out with her pet dragon Lockheed in the city park, having a picnic with one of her new teammates Piotr Rasputin and his little sister Illyana, who was still sick but not in such great pain as she was before Hank gave her an experimental cure for the Legacy Virus.  
  
Lockheed was having fun playing with the little girl when a breeze blew and he caught the scent of something he knew and hated deeply. Growling softly, he looked around and he saw a young man standing and leaning against an oak tree, looking out at the clouds in the sky. Snarling, he started to charge at the man.  
  
"Lockheed!" Kitty shouted, giving chase after the purple dragon. Illyana watched giggling as Kitty was forced to take a running dive and land on top of the dragon just before it bit into the young man's ankle. The young man looked down at Kitty as she struggled to pick up the fighting purple dragon and she smiled weakly.  
  
"I'm sorry. Lockheed usually doesn't go after strangers." She said with a shrug as she stood up with the hissing dragon in her arms. She tilted her head to one side as she looked the man over. He was tall with fair skin. His eyes were an odd color, an almost yellow kind of hazel and his hair was cobalt blue with a lock falling over his right eye. She shrugged this off, figuring he was the kind of person who dyed his hair or wore weird contact lenses.  
  
"Zhat is all right, junge frau." The man said, his accent a faint lilting German that made her raise her eyebrows slightly. "Is somezhing zhe matter?" he asked. She blinked and blushed once she realized she had been staring.  
  
"I'm sorry. I thought I knew you from somewhere." She admitted. The young man looked her over quietly and he looked towards the clouds once more.  
  
"Perhaps ve have seen each other before on zhe streets, junge frau." He said simply. "I am sure you shall figure it out someday." Kitty nodded faintly, looking at the man curiously as she turned around and went back to the blanket where Piotr and Illyana were waiting for her.  
  
The young man watched her go away, and he closed his eyes for a moment as he sighed and slowly started to walk away. As he walked, his pant leg went up faintly and revealed a tiny bit of burnt skin.  
  
Nightcrawler looked over his shoulder and he shook his head a bit, teleporting away before anyone would notice he was gone. 


	9. Chapter Nine

When Nightcrawler reappeared in an alley, he walked out and looked around quietly. He looked up at the top of the buildings and he narrowed his eyes slightly, seeing black smoke rising from afar. Narrowing his eyes a bit, he stepped back into the alley and he teleported closer towards the smoke to see where it was coming from.  
  
He appeared beside a building and when he looked to where the smoke was again, his eyes grew wide as he realized it was coming from a school for special people, not mutants but those who were a little slower than the "normal" people. Swiftly, he teleported to where the school was, and he found the source of the smoke.  
  
"Burn baby!" Pyro laughed, making soldiers mounted of flaming horses ramming through the building and make the fire grow stronger every second. Swiftly, Nightcrawler turned off his image inducer and he ran to where Pyro was.  
  
"Vhat are you doing?!" he screamed at him. "Stop it! Zhey are only children in zhere und have done nothing vrong to anyone!" Pyro gave him a mere insolent glance before he made the fire even stronger, laughing as he heard screams from inside grow more intense.  
  
"You always were a party pooper, Nightcrawler!" he said simply. Snarling, Nightcrawler pounced on top of Pyro and stopped him from adding even more flames to the fire. The two fought wildly, Nightcrawler suffering slight burns here and there as he battled with Pyro on the floor. He raked his face with his claws and taking his head between his hands, he slammed it as hard as he could down on the concrete, knocking him out just as the police and firemen started to arrive to the scene.  
  
"Stop where you are!" one of the officers shouted, aiming his gun at Nightcrawler. Panting, Nightcrawler looked up at the building where he could still hear screams and then back at the police. Without a word to them, he teleported inside the building.  
  
Nightcrawler was always terrified of fire, ever since he was almost burned alive for looking different back in Winzledorf. Now, he found himself surrounded by intense flames that Pyro had made to be powerful and take hours to put out with fire hoses. Swallowing down his fear, Nightcrawler looked around to try and find the sources of the terrified screams that rang throughout the place.  
  
He found the first group of students easily, their teacher trying to shield them from the flames. She was ready to fight with Nightcrawler but when he squatted down and held out his hands, she understood that he was only there to help them. Taking the children in his arms and with his tail, he teleported them outside and left them with the firemen before he went back inside just as fast.  
  
He worked as fast as he could with the children, swallowing down his urge to throw up or pass out after each teleport. When he was finished, he was barely able to stand when he heard the piercing scream of a little girl still inside the school. He teleported without thinking and found that the school wasn't going to stay up much longer as a beam came crashing down and nearly crushed him.  
  
"Young one!" he called, shielding his eyes with one hand. "Vhere are you, young one?! You must answer me!" As he dodged a crumbling piece of wall, he heard the girl scream again and he teleported blindly, risking death.  
  
Nightcrawler was lucky enough not to find himself inside an object as he reappeared in an area he could only guess that Pyro hit first. Looking around, he spotted the little girl huddled up in a corner, flames almost taunting her as they got closer and closer by the minute. She looked up and called out something intangible when Nightcrawler watched in horror as beams fell on top of her.  
  
"Nein!" he screamed, running to the pile, crushing his fear of fires at once as flashes of that night came back to him violently. He drove his hands into the flaming pile, smelling burned fur instantly as his feet also submerged themselves and were reunited with the lancing pains they had felt years ago.  
  
He dug crazily, throwing flaming debris here and there as he begged God to let this little girl live through this and not be too badly burned. When he finally got to her, he thanked the Lord above that one of the beams had actually shielded her from most of the fire, only burning her arms a little bit.  
  
Gently he picked her up in his ruined arms and he realized that he couldn't risk her life by trying to teleport in his condition so he simply hobbled as fast as he could to a large gaping hole amid the flames to freedom. Burnt flesh and fur came off as he moved, and when he finally came out of the building, it collapsed with a final scream of wood and metal alike.  
  
Some of the rookie cops instantly drew their guns and were ready to order him to surrender when the chief cuffed a few ears, pointing out the valuable carriage Nightcrawler had. He fell to his knees with a moan and ambulance workers quickly ran up and took the child from him to care for her wounds.  
  
"Do you need any help?" one of them asked. Nightcrawler looked up slightly and he narrowed his eyes a bit to get a better look at the worker. He took the medical kit he held with his tail and without a word, he teleported away from there at once.  
  
The X-men arrived an hour later to clean up the mess and assess the damage down by Pyro's rampage. Scott looked around and he shook his head in disgust as he placed his hands on his hips.  
  
"Why did Pyro and Nightcrawler do this?" he asked softly. Rogue and Piotr shared a look before they confronted Scott.  
  
"Nightcrawler wouldn' do tha'. 'e 'ated fire." Rogue pointed out defensively.  
  
"Da, and he would never hurt any child, even human children." Piotr added. Scott snorted, still skeptical about the new member's claims of reformnant and he was ready to argue with then when Logan came up and interrupted him.  
"The cops say they saw Nightcrawler take out Pyro himself." He explained. "He also suffered a lot of damage saving most of the kids, including a little girl who says an Elf saved her. His wounds are really bad too." He added.  
"How do you know he took such bad damage?" Scott asked. Logan held up a piece of burnt blue fur that made Rogue stifle a cry.  
  
"I smelled this all over one area." He said calmly. "He dug that girl out of flaming debris and suffered massive burns to his hands and feet. The poor bastard can barely walk most likely." He turned to Rogue and Piotr. "Do you have an idea where he might have gone? He'll need Hank's help with those wounds."  
  
"We'll go an' git 'im." Rogue said, sharing a look with Piotr. They knew exactly where Nightcrawler had gone. 


	10. Das Ende

Nightcrawler was in an old chapel, long abandoned by the Humans. He always came here when he wanted to think about things in his real body, and not the false cloak the image inducer provided for him just because uncaring Humans would rather see him dead than learn about him and try to understand him better. He found that he always could think when he was in a chapel because it was calm and peaceful inside.  
  
He lay on his side that wasn't as burned or hurt as much as the other one, using his tail to lightly dab his legs with antiseptic. He refused to flinch or jerk at the stinging it gave, but he allowed himself to howl and whimper softly, sounding like a wounded stray dog almost; figuring that if he was going to die, he might as well not try to hold back and be macho about it.  
  
As he gazed at his hands, he whimpered softly and without thinking, he lightly looked the back of his hands with his tongue like an animal. They were burnt and gnarled, worse than the burns on his legs even though that had been burned twice now. When he tried to move the fingers, the flesh crackled and started to bleed so he simply let his hands lay limply beside his head, continuing to tend to his leg wounds with his tail.  
  
When he heard the doors to the chapel open, his heart start to pound, fearing that someone from the Friends of Humanity had found him and were ready to finish him off. Whimpering, he forced himself to crawl with his elbows behind the altar, huddling into a trembling fetal position. He listened with held breath as two sets of footsteps walked into the chapel.  
  
"Nightcrawler?" Rogue called. "Nightcrawler, answer me. Et's me an' Piotr, Nightcrawler. We 'eard wot 'appened back in the school wi' you an' Pyro. You saved those children." Very slowly, Nightcrawler looked around the altar at her, trying to make his voice not sound weak and feeble like it did.  
  
"Rogue?" he whispered. "Please, mein vounds. . ." Piotr and Rogue walked up and knelt beside Nightcrawler, wincing at the horrid wounds on his hands and legs.  
  
"We will get you to Hank McCoy." Piotr said, starting to put the medicine away. "He will be able to heal these in no time." Nightcrawler shook his head slowly, leaning his head against Rogue's shoulder.  
  
"Nein, zhe X-men vill not take me in.," he said softly. Rogue looked at him and hugged him gently.  
  
"They took us in wi' no problems." She pointed out. "They know wot you did an' they will take you in, brother." She insisted. Nightcrawler looked at her seriously for a moment, reading her eyes.  
  
"You are telling zhe truth, ja?" he asked. Laughing softly, Rogue nodded.  
  
"Ja, Ah'm tellin' the truth." She assured him. Nightcrawler slowly smiled, and he quickly kissed her cheek before her power could take effect.  
  
"If I could, I vould hug you both, mein freunds!" he said, looking from Rogue to Piotr. "But I cannot teleport or valk. . ." he said.  
  
"I will carry you." Piotr said, gently slipping an arm under Nightcrawler's legs and under his head, standing up slowly. As they left the chapel, Nightcrawler laughed softly, looking up at Piotr.  
  
"Zhis is exactly how Magneto led me avay vhen he found me you know." He said, before falling asleep.  
  
It wasn't an easy procedure due to the layers of burnt flesh and fur, but Hank McCoy was able to heal the burn wounds as best as he could, being quite liberal with the pain medications due to how bad the burns turned out to be. When Nightcrawler woke, he found himself in the infirmary with his hands and legs tightly bandaged.  
  
Sitting up slowly, he looked around at the beeping machines around him and he scratched the side of his head lightly with the tip of his head. He flinched when he heard someone clear their throat and when he looked over his shoulder, he found Hank McCoy sitting in a chair, his legs cross calmly and a clipboard in one hand.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Wagner." He said with a smile, writing something down on the clipboard. "I suspected you would wake today!"  
  
"My name is Nightcrawler." He said softly, slowly trying to stand, Wincing, he laid back down and sighed.  
  
"My apologies, Nightcrawler." Hank amended, walking over and checking the bandages. "I must say, it took a lot of bravery to simply place your hands in fire like that, Nightcrawler. I was almost afraid that you would lose them at one point!"  
  
"But I shall be able to use zhem in time, ja?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Oh certainly, my fellow blue comrade." Hank laughed, looking down at the clipboard. He adjusted his glasses slightly and he looked at Nightcrawler, slowly becoming serious all of a sudden. "I have to ask you something important." He said.  
  
"Vhat is it?" Nightcrawler asked, his tail curling slightly.  
  
"Your legs, they have been burned previously. What happened?" Hank asked. Nightcrawler stiffened, gritting his teeth slightly.  
  
"I vish not to answer zhat." He said softly.  
  
"I do not mean to sound rude at all but, I would like to know for your medical file and. . ."  
  
"I said nein!" Without thinking, Nightcrawler teleported blindly from the infirmary, hoping to God he didn't end up killing himself. He found himself in an office of some sort, sitting on a comfy leather couch.  
  
"Vas?"  
  
"Hello, Kurt." Looking up he saw Xavier looking at him from across a large chestnut wood desk. The man slowly rolled over, smiling faintly.  
  
"My name is Nightcrawler."  
  
"Your code name, yes." Xavier agreed calmly. "But your real name is Kurt Wagner."  
  
"Nein, zhat vas my old name." He insisted, starting to get irritated.  
  
"Please, don't try to teleport away again, Kurt." Xavier said. "I will be forced to make you appear here again and then block you from using them or any voluntary muscle movement for that matter." He added, his eyes twinkling slightly. Slowly, Nightcrawler calmed down and he sighed.  
  
"Vhat do you vant?" he asked finally.  
  
"I wanted to apologize to you." Xavier said. Nightcrawler slowly sat up and he cocked an eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Vhat are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
"You've heard about Cerebro and what it can do?" Xavier asked.  
  
"Of course I have."  
  
"Well, years ago I found a mutant in Winzledorf, Germany, Kurt. But I didn't act on it because I thought I had more pressing matters in Africa with Ororo. I didn't know that mutant was being chased down like an animal. . ."  
  
"Stop talking." Nightcrawler said harshly, narrowing his eyes. "Not another vord or else!" he warned.  
  
"Kurt. . ."  
  
"Nightcrawler!" he shouted, regretting it as he felt a faint sting of pain in his legs.  
  
"Your name is Kurt Wagner." Xavier said calmly, looking him in the eyes. "And I know why you have previous burns on your legs too. I'm sorry for that."  
  
Nightcrawler looked Xavier in the eyes and he narrowed them slightly, trying to find a trace of a lie in them. All he found was the truth and a deep regret for failing him years ago when he really needed him.  
  
Kurt Wagner shrugged slightly, leaning his back against a plump pillow.  
  
"Vhat is past is past, mein herr." He said simply. "Vounds heal like any other und zhe vorld moves on regardless of zhat fact altogether."  
  
He smiled slowly, revealing his fangs.  
  
Kurt Wagner was home at last. 


End file.
